The invention relates to a frame construction adapted to support one or more reversing thermometers for use in measuring the temperature of a sample of water taken at a predetermined depth from a body of water. When a sample is taken from a body of water the temperature of the sample at the time it is taken often is required to be known. Since water temperatures vary at different depths and since water temperatures may be considerably different from atmospheric temperatures, a so-called reversing thermometer has been developed which, when turned end for end, will continue to indicate the temperature indicated by the thermometer just prior to its being turned, even though the thermometer subsequently may be exposed to different temperatures.
The prior art contains several examples of reversing thermometer frames. For example, such frames are shown in each of the U.S. Patents to Brown, No. 2,012,741; Niskin, No. 3,242,740; Lowdermilk, No. 3,357,250; Greene et al, No. 3,610,037; and Niskin, No. 3,793,889.
All of the known reversing thermometer frames suffer from one or more undesirable characteristics, a chief one of which is the necessity of having to dissassemble parts of the frame to transfer a thermometer to and from its supporting case. More often than not, the thermometers must be transfered to and from their supporting cases aboard ship and under conditions such that dissassembled parts, or the thermometers, or both, can be damaged or lost overboard. Further, known reversing thermometer frames require either the use of tools to effect their assembly and dissassembly, or have exposed operating parts which can be damaged or become entangled with other apparatus.
A principal object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a reversing thermometer frame construction which overcomes the aforementioned undesirable characteristics.